Video cameras have been conventionally used to create films that are presented to audiences for a fee. As time has passed and technology has evolved, video cameras have become available at the consumer level. Consumers have used video cameras to capture events that are deemed to be memorable, such that the events can be viewed at later times. As technology has still further developed, video captured by a device at a first location can be nearly instantaneously transferred by way of a network to a second location. In a particular example, a first individual can connect a webcam to her computer and capture video of herself and her surroundings. The video can then be made available in real-time to a second individual by way of the Internet, for example.
Conventionally, when a user no longer wishes to share video from a networked video camera (e.g., webcam), the user can perform one of two tasks: (1) shut down the application that is being used to share the video; or (2) power down the hardware (video camera). Currently, however, some applications are required to be constantly executing, and these applications require a video camera to be continuously capturing images. For instance, there are applications that monitor video to detect activity in a particular region associated with a video camera.
As the use of video cameras continues to increase, and as additional applications are configured to access and display video in real-time, concerns regarding who is viewing the video and how the video is being used may arise.